Condenser for refrigerating systems



Miami? 1931- c. STEENSTRUP CONDENSER I FOR REFRIGERATING SYSTEMS Filed Oct. 4, 192a ll l l llll Patented Mar. 17, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CHRISTIAN STEENSTRUIP, OF SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T GENERAL ELEG- TRIG COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK CONDENSER FOB. REFRIGERATING SYSTEMS Application filed October 4, 1928. Serial No. 310,371.

My invention relates to -air-cooled condensers for refrigerating systems which are provided with cooling fins and a condenser chamber arranged in heat exchange relation with the fins.

It has been the practice heretofore in building air-cooled condensers of this kind to attach cooling fins to a casing or other suitable supporting member by welding, brazing,

riveting or the like, and to arrangea condenser pipe coil or chamber on the fins. Attaching the fins to the casing or supporting member in this way is costly because of the equipment and labor required.

The object of my invention is to secure the cooling fins to the casing or supporting member without the necessity of brazing, welding or riveting them to the supporting member so as to simplify and cheapen the cost of manufacturing the condensers. I accomplish this by providing an annulus of fins of zigzag form surrounding a supporting member, and a condenser pipe coil or chamber of other suitable form secured in heat exchange relation with the fins.

Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds, and the features of novelty which characterize my invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

In the drawing Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sheet of metal of the forms which I employ in forming condenser cooling fins in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of this plate after rows of openings have been punched therein in such arrangement that they form outwardly presented notches in the completed fins; Fig. 3 is an edge view of the plate after it has been bent in zigzag form; Fig. 4: is a plan view of the annulus of fins formed by fastening the ends of the zigzag plate together; Fig. 5' is a sec-- tional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4. showing the particular manner employed in the present construction for fastening the ends of the zigzag plate together; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the annulus of fins after the condenser pipe coil has been arranged in notches thereon; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the annulus of fins having a condenser pipe coil thereon and arranged above the refrigerant containing casing or supporting member on which the annulus of fins is pressed; Fig. 8 is a fra mentary perspective view of the annulus of us, as shown in Fig. 6, showing the outwardly presented notches formed by the openings in the plate and the condenser pipe coil-arranged therein; Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a refrigerator having my invention applied thereto, and Fig. 10 is a plan view of the refrigerant containing casing and air-cooled condenser shown in Fig. 9.

Referring to the drawing, I have shown my invention in connection with a refrigerator cabinet 10 having a refrigerating machine associated therewith of the general construction described in my application, Serial No. 109,960 filed May 18, 1926, or my application Serial No. 166,212, filed February 5, 1927. The refrigeratingmachine is mounted on a base plate 11, which is removably supported in an opening in the refrigerator cabinet 10, and comprises a refrigerant containing casing 12 having a compressor and motor arranged therein which is controlled 1n response to the temperature of the cooling unlt of the refrigerator by a thermostatic device 12. In this construction the compressed refrigerant is delivered from the casing 12 to a condenser pipe coil 18, which is carried by cooling fins 14 attached to the casing, and which communicates with the casing at 15 The refrigerant is condensed in the pipe c011 and flows therefrom to the coolin unit of the refrigerator under control of. a fi oat valve or other suitable device indicated at 16.

In accordance with my invention the cooling fins 14 constitute an annulus which'is clamped into engagement with the casing 12 so as to support the condenser pipe coil 13 and fins 14 entirely by frictional engagement therewith, without the necessity for brazing,

welding or riveting the fins thereto. In order to support the fins 14 in the desired relation to each other so that they can be readily secured to the casing 12 by means of the condenser pipe coil 13, I make them of zigzag form, as clearly shown in Figs. 4, 6 and 10 of the drawing, and form outwardly presented notches 18 therein, as shown in Fig. 8 for supporting the condenser pipe coil thereon. Although I have shown my improved condenser construction mounted on the casing 12 of a compression refrigerating machine, it is apparent that the condenser can also be readily constructed by securing it to any other suitable form of supporting member.

I make the condenser construction de scribed above so that the cooling fins and the condenser pipe coil are secured to the casing 12 without welding, brazing or riveting the this thereto. I do this by arranging the condenser pipe coil 13 about the fins 14 so as to constitute an annulus in which the inside diameter formed by the inwardly presented edges of the fins form a very secure press fit on the casing 12, as shown in Fig. 6. I then press the fins on the casing under considerable pressure into the relation shown in Figs. 9 and 10, so that the fins and the condenser pipe coil are securely attached to the casing entirely by frictional engagement therewith. This insures good thermal contact between the condenser pipe coil and the fins, and also between the fins and the casing 12 so that the fins efliciently cool the condenser pipe coil 13 and also the casing 12.

I make the construction in the following manner: I form a sheet of metal 20 as shown in Fig. 1. I then punch or otherwise form a plurality of rows of openings 21 therein which are spaced apart longitudinally thereof, and form openings 24 in one end of the plate to facilitate riveting the ends thereof together. I bend the plate on the dotted lines 22 and 23 in zigzag form, as shown in the edge view thereof in Fig. 3. By bending the plate 20 in this mannerthe openings 21 form outwardly presented notches in the fins as indicated at 18 in Fig. 8, which are adapted tosupport the condenser pipe coil. As notches cannot be readily formed in the ends of the plate 20 for supporting the pipe coil, I make the ends of the plate slightly shorter than the other zigzag portions thereof, so that in the completed condenser these ends engage the condenser pipe at 26 when it is arranged thereon, as shown in Figs. 6 and 10. After I form zigzag plate 20 in this way I bend it into annular form and fasten the ends thereof together in any suitable manner, as by welding or riveting at 25, as shown in Figs. 4: and 5. I then wind the condenser pipe 13 in the outwardly presented notches 18 in the annulus of fins 14 in such manner that the inwardly presented edges of the fins are at the proper radial distance from the axis thereof to form a secure press fit on the casing 12, or other supporting member for the condenser. This reinforces the annulus of fins sufliciently to withstand the stresses to which it is subjected upon being pressed on the casing 12, as the condenser pipe coil resists, by circumferential tension therein, the stresses to which the annulus of fins is subjected. I then place the annulus of fins with the condenser pipe coil 13 wound thereon over the casing 12, and press the same thereon into the position shown in Figs. 9 and 10, so thatit is rigidly supported on the casing entirely by frictional engagement therewith, which avoids the necessity of attaching the inwardly projecting edges of the fins to the casing by welding, brazing or riveting, as in the usual construction. I then connect one end of the pipe coil 13 to the refrigerant containing casing 12, as indicated at 15, and the other end thereof to the float chamber or controlling device indicated at 16, through which the refrigerant is delivered to the cooling unit in the refrigerator cabinet.

Although I have shown my improved aircooled condenser in connection with a compression refrigerating machine, I do not desire my. invention to be limited to the particular arrangement set forth, and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An air-cooled condenser for refrigerating systems comprising av supporting member, an annulus of fins of zigzag form surrounding said supporting member and a condenser chamber secured to the outwardly projecting portions of said fins in heat exchange relation therewith.

2. An air-cooled condenser for refrigerating systems comprising a supporting member, an annulus of fins ofzigzag form surrounding said supporting member, and means ineluding a condenser chamber carried by said ing member, said fins consisting of a metal her.

strip of zigzag form, means including a condenser chamber surrounding said fins for retainlng them agalnst said supporting mem- '5. An air-cooled condenser for refrigerating systems comprising a supporting member, an annulus of fins surrounding the supporting member, said fins consisting of a metal strip of zigzag form, and means including a condenser pipe coil in contact with the outer ends of said fins for retaining them against said supporting member.

6. An air-cooled condenser for refrigerating systems comprising a supporting member, an annulus of fins surrounding said supporting member, said fins consisting of a metal strip of zigzag form having the ends thereof fastened together, and means including a condenser chamber surrounding said fins for Igetaining them against said supporting mem- 7. An air-cooled condenser for refrigerating systems comprising a supporting member, an annulus of fins surrounding said supporting member, said fins consisting of a metal strip of zigzag formhaving the ends thereof fastened together, andmeans including a condenser pipe coil in contact with the outer ends of said fins for retaining them against said supporting member.

8. An air-cooled condenser for refrigerating systems comprising a supporting member,

an annulus of fins surrounding said supporting member, said fins consisting of a metal strip of zigzag form having the ends thereof fastened together, and means including a condenser pipe coil in contact with the outer ends of said fins for clamping them against said supporting member so as to support said fins and said condenser coil thereon entirely by frictional engagement therewith.

9. A refrigerating machine comprising a casing constituting a refrigerant chamber, an annulus of fins surrounding said casing, said fins being of zigzag form, and a condenser chamber secured in heat exchange relation to the outer ends of said fins.

10. A refrigerating machine comprising a casing constituting a refrigerant chamber, an annulus of fins surrounding said casing, said fins consisting of a metal sheet of zigzag form having the ends thereof fastened together, and means including a condenser chamber surrounding said fins for retaining them against said casing.

11. A refrigerating machine comprising a casing constituting a refrigerant chamber, an annulus of fins surrounding said casing, said fins consisting of a metal sheet of zigzag form having the ends thereof fastened together, and means including a condenser pipe coil surrounding said fins for retaining them against said casing so as to support said fins and said condenser coil thereon.

12. A refrigerating machine comprising a 

